As F1 gears up for the 2026 Hungarian GP, Fernando Alonso has shed more light on Aston Martin’s approach to race weekends going forward, what they expect from their first major upgrades of the season, how they would fare in Budapest, and his confidence in the team’s abilities and Adrian Newey’s leadership.
Since the very beginning of the 2026 F1 campaign, Aston Martin and their new power unit supplier Honda have been battling chronic reliability and drivability issues that have resulted in ten retirements between both drivers so far. They currently sit tenth in the Constructors’ standings.
This weekend’s Hungarian GP will finally see Aston Martin introduce their first substantial upgrade package of the campaign, with the Silverstone-based squad targeting sweeping car changes as opposed to a series of smaller developments. Meanwhile, Honda are set to bring forth their upgraded power unit at Zandvoort following the F1 summer break.
Whether Aston Martin’s approach would change going forward
Speaking in Thursday’s F1 Press Conference ahead of the 2026 Hungarian GP, Fernando Alonso opened up about the sense of anticipation inside the team as Aston Martin prepare to hit the Hungaroring with the upgraded AMR26 for the first time.
Stating that their approach to racing hasn’t undergone any changes, the Spaniard claimed that they put their best foot forward heading into every race weekend.
Nonetheless, Alonso admitted that their 2026 F1 campaign won’t witness a dramatic turnaround in Hungary, as they are still getting to grips with the new regulations and determining the right path for car development.
“I don’t think that it changes anything in the approach that we’ve had so far this year. We go to every race trying to maximise what we have in our hands. We’re here to win races and to fight for championships.
“We didn’t start the season that way, and we will not be that way either, because we are just in the process of understanding these regulations and getting onto a good path, let’s say, with the development of the car.”
Alonso says the 2026 Hungarian GP upgrades are only the first step for Aston Martin
Fernando Alonso also drew attention to how other teams on the grid have acquired performance gains through incremental steps and steady progress so far in the season, unlike Aston Martin, who now seek to make a massive step forward all at once.
Expressing his optimism, the two-time world champion commended the team for the work they have put into remedying the serious shortcomings of the car they had discovered during the pre-season tests in Bahrain.
At the same time, Alonso clarified that the 2026 Hungarian GP package entails only the first step towards unlocking the full potential of the AMR26 and that there are more upgrades in the pipeline.
“I think for the first 12 races, all the teams opted for a different strategy, the more conventional one, to bring two or three tenths of a second every two or three races, and then you end up with one second or one and a half seconds by race 10 or race 12.
“We didn’t do that, so we fell a little bit behind everyone else on the grid, and now we will try to catch up all at once. But I think it doesn’t change your natural position at the end on Sundays.
“I’m obviously optimistic. I’m very proud of the team and of the job that they’ve done since the Bahrain test, when we understood that we had a problem and we had to fix a few weaknesses on the car. I think this is the first step towards those fixes, but there are more to come.”
How much progress Aston Martin expect to make
Asked just how much of an improvement Aston Martin are expecting from their much-anticipated chassis upgrade package at the 2026 Hungarian GP, Fernando Alonso conceded that they do not have any precise numbers in mind. Noting that their deficit to the midfield teams had fluctuated in the last few rounds, he also pointed out how the gap to the frontrunners over a flying lap has been relatively consistent.
Acknowledging how Silverstone and Spa-Francorchamps were both challenging circuits for the British team, the 44-year-old remarked that no update would help them claw back over 2 seconds of lap time in one round. Furthermore, he added that he expects their position in the F1 pecking order to change track by track in the remaining races of the season.
“Difficult to say. I’m not thinking too much about numbers, positions or something like that, because if we go back to the last five races, I think we had very different gaps to the midfield.
“We had a more or less consistent gap to pole position, which is unreachable, obviously, at this moment, but there were a couple of tough circuits.
“I think Silverstone was tough. Spa was one of the toughest. I think we had the guy in front of us 2.1 seconds ahead, so there is no package in the world that will give you that amount of time.
“Probably the position would not change if you ran the updated car in Spa one week ago, so that’s how we need to treat it. It will change circuit by circuit.”
How Alonso anticipates the upgraded Aston Martin to perform during the 2026 Hungarian GP weekend
With regard to how he expects Aston Martin to fare during the 2026 Hungarian GP weekend, Fernando Alonso appeared pretty hopeful given that the Hungaroring is one of the least power-hungry circuits on the F1 calendar.
Nevertheless, the 32-time race winner emphasised how they are still lagging behind on the power unit side, as Honda will only bring forth their upgraded engine after the summer break.
Alonso reiterated that he is looking forward to determining whether they have undertaken the right course of action with respect to the AMR26’s development and can make the much-needed performance gains.
“Hopefully Budapest is a friendly circuit for us. Power is not the most important point here, which obviously helps.
“We will update the car, but not the engine yet, so we still have something that we need to overcome.
“As I said, I’m more interested in understanding the direction of the car, whether we are on a good path and whether we finally unlock the performance.”
Whether there are any specific answers Alonso wants the upgraded AMR26 to give
In terms of Aston Martin and Honda completely overhauling the car in the next two rounds and whether there are any signs that will make him believe they would start the next F1 season on the right foot, Fernando Alonso responded in the lead-up to the 2026 Hungarian GP, “I don’t think that I need answers.”
Reaffirming his faith in the team’s ability to resolve their issues, Newey’s technical vision, and Honda’s expertise to remedy their power unit’s fundamental shortcomings, the Spaniard restated how the new upgrades would serve as a stepping stone to improving their understanding of the AMR26 and its competitiveness and laying a solid foundation for future development.
“I think I have a pretty clear picture of the team, that we will fix all the problems. They take time, but I have no doubts, zero doubts, that Adrian [Newey] will provide the best car on the grid sooner or later.
“As I said before, I would like to see the first step with this package, with the understanding after the first couple of races, and I think there’s going to be more to come next year, that’s for sure, and in the years to come.
“On the power unit, I have no doubt as well. I think it’s a matter of time before Honda fixes the issues, because it’s what they’ve been doing for the last 40 years of racing. We started on the back foot, yes. We are dealing with that process now and that pain on the weekends, but we are all working together to fix the issues.
“It’s just how soon the car will be competitive. That’s the question mark. Maybe the next two races will give us a little bit of a feeling for that.”
